Those Who Come Closer
by Flower Gal Aeris
Summary: Post Game Fic (Spoilers!) Tidus/Yuna, Wakka/Lulu : Spira is free of suffering once more, and the dreaming of the Fayth has ended. But were all the dreams truly just figments of mind? Or had a special dream become reality? Tidus searches for the answe
1. Waking Up

Those Who Come Closer

By - Aeris

**Warning: Since this story is set after the events of the game, it obviously contains SPOILERS.**

If you haven't finished Final Fantasy X, close this window now. You don't want to spoil this game, trust me.

But if you've finished, please go on and read ^-^ Please gimme reviews, I love em to death.

Yes, yes, I know, there are plenty of 'Tidus Returns' fics out there. But I promise you. This one will be different.

~;.-.;~

__

~;.-.;~

It's been over a week, now. Since we killed Sin. So much has changed, now…for the better. I only wish that… he was here to see it all.

Him... the one who helped alter Spira's destiny of sorrow. The one who kept me from continuing the cycle. The one I fell in love with… 

The one the Fayth called a dream. But I know… he was more than just a dream.

Maybe he was created in that way, but… could a dream have saved the world? He's real… I can feel it, deep down. I know he's out there, somewhere.

Until the day I see you again, my love, I'll come to this beach every day, and whistle. You said if I needed you... to whistle. Please, keep your promise… because I need you.

Tidus... I love you. 

~;.-.;~

"Yuna?"

Wakka walked alongside the Besaid shoreline, tossing a blitzball in his right hand. He stopped alongside the young woman, and placed his other hand on her shoulder. "Yuna… he's not coming back."

Yuna shook her head, turned and smiled at him. "Yes, he is."

Wakka opened his mouth to protest, but… decided it best to let her come to accept the fact on her own. "Allright, whatever you say. But when he does, tell him he owes me another game of blitz, ya?"

She laughed, light and happy, and nodded. "Sure." Yuna watched him walk away back to 'blitzball practice' with the other Aurochs. Then she turned around to face the sea once more, raised her two fingers to her lips, and blew out a whistle.

Closing her eyes, she hoped. _Come back home, Tidus…_

~;.-.;~

Dark. All around, darkness. No light. No air.

…no air? There had been air before, hadn't there?

__

…where am I?

Another sensation- wet. He opened his eyes. He was underwater. Why was this so familiar?

A pyrefly wisped past his face and he came to realize everything. Flashes of the past came to him faster than bullets. Fiends, swords, magic, blitzball. People. Wakka, Lulu… Kimarhi, Rikku… Auron… 

…Yuna.

Yuna…

__

'I love you.'

He stretched out his limbs and looked around. Was he back in Spira? How? He was a fading dream… the last thing he remembered was… 

__

Dad…

Sin… fighting Sin. To save Spira. Sin…was Jecht. Jecht was dad. Dad was Sin?

He remembered it all within seconds, the pilgrimage, the battles, deaths, failures, and victories. The final battle with Sin, Yu Yevon, dispatching Yuna's Aeons… Yuna!

I've got to find her!!

He swam up and broke surface, breathing air for the first time in what seemed like a long time. Looking around, the environment seemed so familiar…he heard something familiar. A shrill sound…a whistle?

__

"Yuna!!" She turned to look at Tidus. He brought his fingers to his lips and whistled hard.

"What was that?"

"In Zanarkand, we do this to cheer on blitz players." He whistled again. "You try it, too! Put your fingers in your mouth like this."

"Like…this?"

"Uh-uh, not like that, like this." He showed her the proper way, "Then, you just blow."

She tried a couple more times but only succeeded in blowing air, "It's not working."

"Practice!"

"Okay." She smiled.

"Hey, use that if we get separated. Then I'll come running, okay? Well, guess we should just stick together, then, till you can do it?" 

__

"Yes, sir!"

A wide smile came across Tidus's face. He was near the Besaid shoreline and saw a figure standing at the coast. The source of the noise.

"Yuna!!" He dove underwater and swam towards the shore.

~;.-.;~

Yuna opened her eyes and stopped whistling for a moment. She heard a faint yell, almost like someone calling her name…

Her heart jumped in her throat. She saw a shadow moving in the water, and hope got the best of her as she ran towards the open sea. 

Wakka looked over from the shore and yelled, "Yuna!!! Are you crazy?? What are you doin'?"

Yuna ignored him, following her instinct. She stopped where the water was waist-deep, and stood, looking out over the sea. The shadow was gone. Maybe it was all her imagination?

She stood there for a minute or two, staring out, before bowing her head down and sighing. _Maybe it had been stupid to think he'd come back…_

She turned around, looking at Wakka come running towards her. Suddenly she saw him stop halfway between her and the shore, his jaw gaping open, and she tilted her head in wonder. Before she could walk to him she felt, strong, dripping wet arms gently wrap around her neck and shoulders.

Her eyes widened, she jumped at the surprise, and yet stood still…this was familiar, too familiar…and it could only be one person holding her right now.

Tears of joy began streaming down her face, and Yuna turned around to hug the beloved form before her.

"Yuna… I'm back." Tidus looked down at her, hugging her tight in the water. 

She looked up at him in wonder, "I knew you would come back… but how… the Fayth, you were fading… you jumped…"

"…I know. I don't understand this myself, but… we'll find out soon enough. All that matters is that I'm back, with you now…" She looked up at him and he lowered his face to hers, "And I'll never leave you again." He was about to kiss her, when…

"'EY!!! YOU'RE BACK!!!!" Wakka came running towards them faster than a chocobo. The two separated and Wakka engulfed Tidus in a bear hug. "Were'd ya go, man, we thought we'd neva see you again!!"

Tidus laughed and hugged back, while Yuna laughed along. He moved back and shook his head, "I didn't think I'd ever see any of you again, either." 

He stepped beside Yuna and took her hand in his, "But I guess I have a lot of catching up to do with the group."

~;.-.;~

-= This is the first fanfic I've written… in quite a long time. I guess I'm back, huh? I beat Final Fantasy X for the first time this morning, at 4am, and I was crying my eyes out. It's a beautiful game, very very beautiful, and never in my life have I cried over a game... So...yeah. It took this to give me my inspiration back. I'm thankful.

Well I don't plan on keeping this a one-hit-story. I plan to develop it into a multi chapter. And I hope that you readers read my fic… help me out, review my story, please, tell me what you think, give me ideas, etc… little things like that help me out a lot. PLEASE no flames though, please!

__

  
Next chapter-~ Tidus tells the story of his mysterious meeting with the young Fayth boy. 


	2. Reunion

Those Who Come Closer

Chapter 2

There was a grand party in Besaid that night. All celebrated the return of Tidus; the happiness that brought added onto the already bursting ecstasy of Sin's demise. The 'group' sat on the shore near a campfire, all exchanging tales of the past week, which was surprisingly eventful.

Tidus, sitting next to Yuna, looked around at his teammates and smiled, "How long has it been, anyway?"

Lulu replied, "It's been one week today."

He thought his eyes popped out of his head, "That's it? It felt much longer than that…"

Rikku, with a mouthful of berries, said in a muffle, "Wot happened to you anyway?"

He leaned his head back, "It's a long story…"

"Well, dis is a campfire ain't it? Tell the story then, ya?" Wakka said, ready to listen intently.

"Well…" He began, closing his eyes to remember…

~;.-.;~

__

After I jumped from the airship, I joined up with Auron, Braska, and my old man. It was almost happy, I stood there…felt like a family almost. But then I noticed something was wrong. My body stopped fading… and I fell through the sky.

__

I didn't know where I was when I woke up. It was dark…completely dark. It was like a black void of… of nothing…

"Hey."

It was then… I saw a Fayth again. It was so strange… he did the prayer movement…

"Thank you, for letting us rest… but even though the dreaming has stopped… you remain."

I was just as confused as he sounded so I said nothing and just listened.

"You killed Sin, destroyed Yu Yevon… ended Spira's circle of suffering… perhaps you weren't just a dream. You were the dream to end all dreaming…"

It was then that an image of another Fayth showed. The same Fayth that gave us the Ifrit aeon. He repeated words he had spoken to us before…

"Sin swam in the sea near Zanarkand. Perhaps the waking dream eased its suffering. Your father touched Sin and became real that night, foundering in the seas of Spira. How sad now, that he is caught in the tragic spiral. He is Sin. He is lost."

Then…the Fayth disappeared, leaving only the other Fayth. He looked me in the eye…

"Your father became real because he touched Sin. Although he was created a dream, he entered our world, and had such a great impact…he was no longer just a dream. He became Sin." 

Another image of the same Fayth appeared before me…

And he repeated the same words he spoke before…

"We've been dreaming so long... we're tired. Would you and your father... Would you let us rest? Both you and your father have been touched by Sin. Sin, the one around whom all Spira--the spiral--revolves."

That image faded again… it was slowly making sense.

"You and your father were both tainted by Sin, and therefore became more than just dreams…but while your father became Sin, you were the one to lead the destruction of Sin."

One last image showed, of Shiva's Fayth…

And she spoke, repeating her words too, to help me to understand.

  
_"Even we were once human. That is why we must dream. Let us summon a sea in a new dream world. A new sea for you to swim."_

She, too, faded then…I pieced everything together…

When Sin attacked my Zanarkand, I was taken with him, to Spira. And being in contact with Sin made me reality…

So while the other dreams went to a new dream world…

I remained in Spira…

…the Fayth boy disappeared and suddenly it was so cold… I curled into a ball to keep warm…and fell asleep. I didn't wake up for days, it seemed… till one day…today…

I woke up…and that was about it.

~;.-.;~

"And now I'm sittin here with the group again…" Tidus smiled and looked up at the sky. 

"And Sin is gone now, forever…" Rikku said, a grin on her face.

"Everyone's moving on, building new homes… new lives." Lulu sighed. "It's so much easier now knowing that Sin won't come by unexpected and destroy it all again."

"Much easier, ya? People can live in peace now. And no one follows Yevon no more, the temples are closed for good." Wakka smirked, "No more priests, monks, or maesters… and Bevelle's been opened up again."

"So, basically… the world is at peace forever, and everyone's happy?" Tidus laughed, "And all it took was saving the world. Wonder if it'll last?"

"Let's hope so. If Sin ever returned…" Yuna shook her head, "It couldn't. Yu Yevon has been destroyed, so now the world is ours again…and we're going to do our best to keep it safe and ensure that Sin should never return." She looked into the campfire solemnly, "Now is the time to relax."

Tidus yawned, "Speaking of relaxing, I'm getting tired. Anyone else ready to head back?"

One by one, each member of the group nodded and slowly stood. Lulu took a moment to cast Watera on the fire, sending a billow of smoke into the air. Tidus stood and held a hand down to Yuna, helping her up.

"You seemed quiet tonight." He looked down at her. "Are you alright?"

"Hm. I'm fine, I guess I'm just overwhelmed. I've missed you so much, and…" She sighed and hugged him, "I was afraid."

He hugged her back, "It's fine now. I'm here and I swear I'm staying this time." 

Yuna nodded and pulled away, smiling, "Let's go back to the village and get some rest."

He gave a nod and they headed back to the village with the others.


End file.
